Natalie Jaynes has been a gymnast since her mom took her to J.W. Tumbles in Encinitas at age 4.

She tried soccer and volleyball and she even wanted to be a figure skater, but she never stopped being a gymnast.

“I thought it would be neat to try those other sports,” the 5-foot-5 Jaynes said. “This really isn’t a good area for figure skaters, so I kept going to the gym.”

Jaynes’ time in the gym is now at 14 years as the La Costa Canyon High senior prepares to end another season, the final one for the runner-up in last year’s San Diego Section optional all-around competition.

Q: What has kept you in gymnastics for so long?

A: There is always something new to learn. There are four different events and no event is like another. When you nail one of those events, it’s so much fun you can’t help but keep going. A gymnast has to be extremely strong and graceful at the same time to the point of almost being a ballerina. No other sport is like that.

Q: As you look back on it, are you surprised you’re still in the sport?

A: Lots of girls start young but drop out before they become serious about it. I used to look at the older girls in the gym and I remember thinking I wanted to be one of them. My ultimate goal was to compete, and to do that you have to be serious. Gymnastics is a lifestyle. I’ve heard some people say they don’t think gymnastics is a sport. Trust me, it is. You have to be in the sport to answer that.

Q: When people see the competition, mostly in the Olympics, do they really think it’s an easy sport?

A: Oh yeah, I did private lessons for about five years and got up to level 9. I was training 20 hours every week. It was too much for me.

Q: Did you do anything about that?

A: I decided to drop going to my club team and just compete at my high school. School had so many other things for me. It was a better path for me because it allowed me to do more school activities. I was a cheerleader for two years and I couldn’t have done that if I was still going to the club.

Q: Did your decision to compete with your La Costa Canyon team only affect your life?

A: They became my second family. My parents got divorced and the team became my home away from home. I created a new family there, which I couldn’t do at the club. You only compete for yourself there. At LCC, I compete on a team and I prefer that.

Q: How disappointed were you at last year’s section finals when you were the all-around champion for a few minutes until an error was discovered and you were dropped to second place?

A: I was a little bummed. I thought I’d won for about 10 minutes, and I understood the scores were so close (West Hills’ Tori Anderson scored 37.40 to a 37.15 by Jaynes). Maybe winning the team title for the first time in school history helped ease that pain a little. Winning as a team was greater than winning as an individual. I thought she deserved to win. At least I won on beam.

Q: Does that moment still hurt a little bit?

A: No. Only a few people like my family, my ex-coach and my LCC coaches knew.

Q: Are you going to be competing in college at Oregon next year?

A: I’m going to try out for cheerleading. They have dancers and (acrobats) and I think I can be a (acrobat).

Q: And what if that doesn’t work out?

A: They have a club gymnastics team. I chose a college that at least had club gymnastics and offered open gym for gymnasts. I’ll bring my grips and stuff with me just in case. I can’t imagine giving up gymnastics forever. I guess I thought I could do gymnastics for the rest of my life.

Q: And will that be enough for you?

A: Gymnastics has been my whole life and it defines who I am. I know there will be more things in my life, but it seems strange to talk about gymnastics not being in there too.

NATALIE JAYNES

School: La Costa Canyon

Sport: Gymnastics

Born: 1995 in Kirkland, Wash.

Year: Senior

Accomplishments: First-team All-Avocado League, first-team All-San Diego Section as well as champion on the beam and second in the optional all-around in 2012